Chapter 268: Ambush (Part 2)
"Your name is Lao Yi?" Tang Qiqi stared at Lao Yi, who was silently driving, and asked.
At the foot of the mountain, the Land Rover and the truck had reversed to a spot wide enough to turn. Any farther back and they would reach the entrance of Tujia Village. Because they were reversing, and because the Land Rover had a blown tire, plus the fact they intentionally kept their speed extremely slow, despite spending almost twenty minutes moving, the actual distance covered was only about three to four kilometers.
Though Tang Qiqi had come together with Lao Yi and Zhang Yang, this was the first time she had spoken to him.
Lao Yi nodded, but his eyes remained fixed on the rearview mirror, inching backward with extreme caution. The mountain road was treacherous. Though wide enough, the Land Rover's tire was blown. A single misstep could send them plunging down the slope—car and people both destroyed.
"Stop the car." Tang Qiqi's beautiful eyes turned cold as she spoke.
"No." Lao Yi refused firmly.
"If you don't want Zhang Yang to die, you'd better stop the car now."
"The boss ordered me to get you out of here."
"Do you know who I am?"
"Spade Eight assassin, Tang Qiqi." Lao Yi replied calmly.
"Since you know that, aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"
"You won't."
Tang Qiqi frowned. "How do you know I won't?"
"Because the boss told me to take you away. That means you're important to him. And someone important to him wouldn't kill me."
Tang Qiqi was speechless for a moment. Then she said, "Are you really this clueless, or are you pretending?"
"Hmm?"
"Let me tell you. This time, all eight Green Group members were deployed. Zhang Yang killed five, but the remaining three—Old Three and Old Six—aren't easy to deal with. And the Green Scorpion is dead accurate with a gun—and a sniper. Think about it. If they flank him from three sides, does Zhang Yang have any chance of survival? And besides…"
Tang Qiqi sneered and continued, "Besides, if Zhang Yang didn't know who the Green Scorpion was, fine. But now he knows she's Li Ping. For your sake, do you think he'll be able to kill her without hesitation? One vs. three is already tough. Add his hesitation? Hesitation kills experts—undecisiveness is fatal…"
"Damn it!!!" Lao Yi slammed the brakes.
"I know the boss doesn't want to put me in a difficult position. But I believe he'll escape safely…"
"Coward. The only one putting you in a difficult position is yourself. You don't dare face Li Ping. Have you ever asked yourself—if she still cared even a little—why has she never contacted you all these years? Not even once to say she's alive. What does that mean? It means she fell for another man, or she feels ashamed to face you. Or she has already forgotten you completely."
"Let me tell you the truth. The Green Scorpion and Shaoying are lovers now—sharing food and bed. And you—some big man—haven't even wondered? They've been together for three years. Where in her heart is there still room for you?"
"Impossible!"
"Why would I lie? I'm from Spade Eight's Orange Group." Tang Qiqi laughed coldly. "Li Ping even had an abortion for Tu Long. This kind of woman—do you really think she still holds affection for you? And besides—you already have a family now."
"Lao Yi, I'm telling you—if you don't hurry back to support Zhang Yang, you'll regret it for the rest of your life."
"But…"
"But what? If you're still hesitating, then unlock the door and let me out—I'll go myself."
Lao Yi hesitated, then looked back at her. "Is the Green Scorpion really that powerful?"
"Do you know about the Lvpingshi massacre?"
"Yes. Real-estate developer Guo Entai accused some official of bribery. Before he could testify, even with heavy police protection, his entire family was killed… What does that have to do with the Green Scorpion… Don't tell me she did it?"
"Heh, what do you think? She hid on a water tower two hundred meters away from the Guo family home. Stayed there for two days and two nights. Then, during a shift change, she sniped all four family members."
"And the Gaodixiang forced demolition murder case…"
"Enough, I know. You want me to understand that the Li Ping of today is not the Li Ping of the past—so I'll give up on her." Lao Yi sighed softly. "Actually, you and the boss both misunderstood. I don't still hold feelings for her. Her father asked me before dying—to take care of her. And the day she was kidnapped—it was partly my fault. I owe her."
"But I never expected she'd become like this…"
Tang Qiqi laughed coldly. "Human nature is evil. The desire to kill exists in everyone. Some people simply never get the opportunity."
"Miss Tang, I'll go back with you."
"Aren't you afraid Zhang Yang will blame you?"
"If something really happens to him, how could I ever face Miss Xu or Brother Xiong again?"
"At least you're not completely stupid…" Tang Qiqi's icy face finally warmed slightly.
Before she finished speaking, gunshots suddenly echoed through the mountain valley!
"Bang! Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"
"Not good!" Lao Yi's ears perked. "That's the sound of a Type 92 pistol—but mixed with something else—sounds like an SVD sniper rifle (Dragunov) or Type 85 sniper firing rimmed rounds."
"Zhang Yang only has a pistol. They're already in a firefight?" Somehow, Tang Qiqi's chest tightened. That bastard better not die!
"Xiao You!" Without thinking, Lao Yi rolled down the window and shouted toward the truck ahead, "Don't turn around anymore! Head back and support the boss immediately!"
"Lao Yi, if Zhang Yang dies because of this, how will you face those tigresses at his house? Give me the wheel." Tang Qiqi flung open her door, ran to the driver's side, and shouted.
Lao Yi was stunned. "You know how to drive?"
"Nonsense! I learned to race in the US. You were probably still in the army." She sneered.
Lao Yi didn't doubt her. His own driving skills were average, and she didn't sound like she was lying. So he gave up the seat.
The moment Tang Qiqi grabbed the wheel, she stepped on the accelerator—full force. Lao Yi nearly peed himself.
Was this woman crazy? At this rate—
The car would probably fly off the cliff before they got there…
"Miss Tang… don't forget, the front right tire is flat…"
"Shut up. Don't distract me!" Tang Qiqi glared at him, her cold eyes now filled with vicious determination as she stared at the narrow mountain road ahead like it was her enemy.
"The gunshots stopped!" Lao Yi's face stiffened. After the loud exchange earlier, the mountains fell silent again. Too silent. It made one's heart crawl.
Boss, please be safe.
Five minutes!
The road that took twenty minutes earlier—Tang Qiqi covered it in just five.
From a distance, they could see everything had changed.
Three bodies were lying messily across the road.
One of them—judging by the smaller frame—was a woman.
And Zhang Yang stood motionless beside the corpses.
"Boss!" Lao Yi didn't even wait for the car to stop. "Unlock the door!" he shouted. Then he jumped out.
Zhang Yang turned his head. When he saw Lao Yi, he didn't say anything. He simply looked exhausted and slowly crouched down.
Then he looked up at Lao Yi and said quietly, "She's not dead yet…"
Standing up, he walked toward the Land Rover, leaned against the door, and glanced at the complicated expression on Tang Qiqi's face. Rubbing his forehead, he asked, "You forced him to come back?"
"How did you know?"
Zhang Yang shrugged. "If you didn't force him, why would you be the one driving?" He glanced at her again. "What, were you afraid I'd die?"
"You bastard. I only came to avenge my father."
"Enough. Your sister already avenged him." Zhang Yang opened the door and sat in the passenger seat. Leaning back heavily, he closed his eyes in exhaustion.
"What do you mean? My sister? Pan Ningning is here?"
"Yeah. She saved my life." Zhang Yang opened his eyes and looked toward Lao Yi, who was crouched in the distance, his face full of conflicting emotions. "Your people really don't care about their own lives. I originally had a chance to eliminate the Green Scorpion first. But one of them jumped in front of her and took the shot. Then everything turned into chaos. The Green Scorpion reacts too fast. If I were even a second slower, I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you…"
"Li Ping is dead?" Tang Qiqi glanced toward Lao Yi and asked.
Zhang Yang shook his head, pointed toward the now clear green mountains ahead, and said, "You won't believe it. Your sister made the shot from over eight hundred meters. That's the SSG69's absolute range limit. Just as the Green Scorpion raised her rifle, your sister's bullet pierced her chest. She's not dead yet—but she won't last long."
"She asked me to bring three words to Lao Yi. But now… I don't think I should." Zhang Yang looked at Lao Yi again—squatting motionless—"I just hope he can get through this."
"Bang!" Suddenly, a distant gunshot echoed, coming from Pan Ningning's direction, its echo bouncing across the mountains.
Zhang Yang frowned. Something about that shot felt… wrong.
Instinctively, he activated the vehicle's *Anti-Sniper Acoustic Detection System*.
"…Firing position beyond detection range—error margin increased. Approximately at two o'clock, between fifteen and twenty minutes, distance between 1,300 to 1,350 meters. Weapon type: Type 85 sniper rifle or SVD sniper rifle, 7.62 caliber…"
"SVD? That's not Pan Ningning's!" Zhang Yang's eyes sharpened. "Someone else is there? At over a kilometer? Not good! The mantis stalks the cicada, the oriole watches behind—Pan Ningning might be in danger!"